I've got a BRW old D-28 & a much newer cheaper mahogany DM, the old guitar hs a sitka spruce top, the new one some other spruce, tho extremely fine grain, & both sound great & garner copious complements for lovely tone, & usually not from guitarist, but rather from people who mostly wouldn't know a Martin from an M1A1 or a P-38.

A long time ago, when the Martin factory people were very user friendly, I asked one of the old timers if I should trade my D-28 for a -then new- D-35, & what difference the back & sides made. He told me not only no, but hell no; they just made the three piece back to get more use out of the BRW - they used the lighter-colored non-matching odd pieces, which previously went to waste, as the middle piece of the first D-35 backs. He also told me that the top was the secret of great sound & as long as it was really well made, the back & sides were not all that important.

It has seemed ever since then that he was right - when I try to objectively just listen to sound & not look at the brand or fancy woods & pretty inlays, etc. I voiced that advice abt the back & side woods several times over the years and generally it is greeted by folkie guitarists as rank HERASY! UNTHINKABLE! VERY politically incorrect.. Oh, well.. back to my stool in the corner for me..

Cheers, BK